What You Need To Know About Wendy Davis

Wendy Davis went from virtually unknown Texas state senator to national hero last night, as she stood for more than ten hours—that’s more than 6,000 Vine videos back-to-back—to filibuster what would have been, had they passed, some of the most stringent abortion restrictions in the country. Davis was not allowed to eat, drink, sit down, lean or pee the entire time, which really puts into perspective when you told your friend you were “going to die of hunger” yesterday when it took two extra minutes for the deli to prepare your salad because they accidentally put cheese on it the first time.

Anyway, back to Wendy, whom we hope is enjoying the fourth hour of the Today Show this morning lying in bed working through a stack of pancakes. Here’s a little Davis primer, so you can regale your co-workers with fun Wendy facts today:

-__ She’s got the backstory of a contestant on The Voice__. Raised by a single mother, she became a single mother herself at the age of 19, eventually living in a trailer park with her daughter. But she went on to become the first person in her family to graduate from college, and enrolled at Harvard Law School, where she graduated with honors.

She's got a celebrity doppelganger. According to Twitter, she should be played in the inevitable film version of last night’s events by no one other than Connie Britton. Also, we know this makes no logical sense, but we found ourselves last night really wishing Leslie Knope could meet her.

This was not her first prominent filibuster! In 2011, she successfully stalled a budget upheaval that would have severely underfunded Texas’ public schools, landing her a gush-y profile in the Times.

You now have a Halloween costume. You can get your hands on a pair of Davis’ now-iconic kicks at Mizuno’s website. They're well-reviewed (4.6/5 stars), to boot!